Whitebeard felt like his entire body had been hollowed out.
Literally, his entire upper torso was now empty.
The scene perfectly mirrored something out of a horror movie like The Autopsy.
If it weren’t for the bright and sunny weather, everyone present would have broken out in a cold sweat.
Even with the good weather and plenty of light, the sight still made everyone instinctively swallow hard.
This doctor…
Anyone wanna give it a try?
The service is top-notch.
He’ll hollow you out—literally.
Not “hollow out” in some figurative sense.
No, physically hollow you out!
Whitebeard looked down at his chest, now completely empty, and then up at the various organs hanging in the open.
To be honest, even he was a little shocked.
This was simply unbelievable.
His body had been emptied out, and yet… he didn’t feel any discomfort at all.
That was what truly baffled him.
“Alright, now I just need to reattach your organs and, with the help of my acupuncture service, I guarantee you’ll feel as good as you did in your younger days!”
As Vir spoke, he began carefully placing the hanging organs back where they belonged, one by one.
Hearing Vir’s words and watching his actions, everyone finally let out a long sigh of relief.
It’s over!
It’s finally over!
This insane treatment was about to end, right?
Thank goodness!
“Uh… Vir, how exactly are you planning to reattach these organs? And how are you going to seal up the incisions? Don’t you need sutures for that? Are you sure you can handle it?”
“Do you need my help?”
Marco, watching Vir reposition the organs, asked with some concern.
The moment Marco brought it up, the others realized it too.
Right!
Doesn’t he… not know how to suture?
Is he going to stab Pops to death by accident?!
“Marco, my dude! Stop asking and just go assist him! Why even question it?!”
Dripping wet from earlier, Jozu wasn’t even upset about getting kicked—he had long since accepted these kinds of things as just part of his life.
He gave Marco a look of pure disappointment, as if he couldn’t believe his lack of initiative.
Marco didn’t argue back this time.
Hearing Jozu’s words, he stepped forward towards Vir.
Honestly, he wasn’t exactly a pro at suturing either—he usually relied on his Phoenix Flames to heal injuries.
But he still figured he had some decent stitching skills.
Yet, as he reached Vir, the latter simply gave him a speechless look and said:
“Sutures? What era do you think this is? Who still stitches wounds?”
As he spoke, Vir reached into his medical kit and, to Marco’s utter shock, pulled out an arc welder.
“I use this now!”
Vir declared while preparing for his next step.
Marco stood there, utterly dumbfounded, as the wind seemed to howl around him.
Marco: ‘Huh?’
‘What… what the hell is this?’
‘If… and I mean if…’
‘If I’m not seeing things, that’s an arc welder, right?’
‘And also…’
‘If I heard correctly just now…’
‘He’s planning to use this instead of sutures?’
‘…HOLD UP!’
‘Bro.’
‘Do you even hear yourself right now?’
‘Using an arc welder instead of sutures?’
‘Do you think Pops is made of steel or something?!’
‘How the hell is that supposed to work?!’
But the moment he saw Vir touch Whitebeard’s body—causing his organs and upper torso to turn into literal steel…
His expression twisted in horror!
‘Oh hell no! You’re actually doing it?!’
Meanwhile, Whitebeard, the very person being operated on, let out a helpless sigh and closed his eyes.
The moment Vir pulled that thing out, he had a bad feeling.
And sure enough…
It was meant for him after all.
Sigh… So this was inevitable, huh…
“Don’t just stand there! Give me a hand—hold his kidneys in place!”
Vir’s voice snapped Marco back to reality.
The welding prep was done.
All he needed now was for the electrode to make contact, and the “surgery” would begin.
Now, he just needed someone to hold the kidneys in the right position.
So he turned to Marco, who was still frozen in shock.
Normally, Marco would be eager to assist in treating his old man.
But right now, looking at those kidneys, still dripping with murky fluid…
He hesitated.
“With… my hands?”
He asked weakly, clinging to a sliver of hope.
“Doesn’t matter. You could use your tongue for all I care.”
Vir, wearing a gas mask, looked at Marco with sheer disappointment.
What’s the big deal?
Since when did kids get so damn delicate?
It’s just a little stinky—close your eyes and deal with it!
If Marco could hear Vir’s thoughts right now, he’d probably point at his face and curse:
“Take off that damn gas mask and say that again!”
Though reluctant, Marco saw the impatient looks from his crewmates below.
He knew that if he didn’t step up, his position as First Division Commander might not be secure for much longer!
‘Screw it! Let’s do this, boys!’
Marco rushed forward and took over, holding the kidneys in place.
His hands—well, let’s not talk about it.
As soon as he got close, the overwhelming stench hit him like a truck, bringing tears to his eyes.
It felt like someone had shot two streams of wasabi straight into his eyeballs!
The pungent, overwhelming scent was so intense that he could hardly endure it!
The stench shot through his nostrils, straight up to the top of his skull!
That feeling…
Marco was utterly defeated on the spot.
He collapsed to his knees instantly.
His brain and lungs felt completely violated!
‘What the hell is this?!’
‘I’m the goddamn Phoenix!’
‘Why is this so much worse up close?!’
‘Is proximity really that big of a factor?!’
‘How the hell did Pops keep a straight face through this?!’
Whitebeard: ‘You get used to it.’
Jozu, watching Marco’s miserable state, was absolutely thrilled.
Good brother.
Enjoying yourself?
He had already figured it out.
Judging by Vir’s peculiar methods, his assistant was bound to suffer as well.
Sending Marco in was definitely the right call.
*Zzzzzzt~*
The sound of welding suddenly rang out.
Whitebeard’s eyes widened.
Not from pain—he was practically numb to that sensation by now.
But being welded? That wasn’t pain.
It was burning.
An intense, searing heat.
And it was inside him—right in his kidney.
Relentless.
And there was a whole lineup of organs waiting to be welded next.
Every step of this process was terrible news for Whitebeard!
Beads of sweat began to form on his forehead.
That searing sensation tormented his nerves without pause.
This… unconventional method of suturing was something Whitebeard swore he’d remember for the rest of his life.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! You’ve earned 300,000 negative points!]
Hearing the notification, Vir shook his head helplessly.
Only 300,000, huh…
Oh well.
This was a man who had taken a magma fist straight through his chest from Akainu and didn’t even flinch.
The fact that this welding technique managed to make him react at all was already impressive.
Even though the sweat on his forehead kept increasing, the old man truly didn’t give another single point after that.
Just one time.
“Phew~”
Vir wiped his gas mask and started cleaning up the scene.
His work as a welder was now complete.
Next up was acupuncture, and then he was done.
As for Marco, who was the closest to all this…
Once he unfroze, he stared at Whitebeard’s chest—now perfectly smooth, without a single trace of the chainsaw incision.
His eyes widened involuntarily.
‘Th-this… is what it means to be a true master?’
‘The pinnacle of suturing…’
‘Is welding?!’
One-step perfection.
So clean and efficient!
No wonder this guy said his suturing skills weren’t great!
Turns out he didn’t even need suturing skills!
A single arc welder conquered all!
Whitebeard, having endured the agonizing welding process, examined his now-seamless chest with equal disbelief.
This technique…
He had never even heard of such a thing before.
Since when had welding technology in the medical field become this advanced?
Or was it just this guy who had mastered it?
Terrifying. Absolutely terrifying.
Truly, terrifying beyond belief!
In just a short moment, he had witnessed three medical techniques that could shake the world of medicine to its core:
Chainsaw thoracotomy, essential oil massage, and welding sutures!
Each one delivered extraordinary results.
Aside from “terrifying beyond belief”, Whitebeard couldn’t think of any other words to describe Vir!
The rest of the crew, seeing the blinding welding light fade, quickly turned to look.
And as soon as they did, they all had the same reaction as Marco.
Eyes wide open.
“Holy crap…”
“This is the first time I’ve ever seen a doctor who’s this skilled at welding…”
“As the saying goes… a welder who can’t do massages isn’t a good doctor!”
Everyone marveled at Vir’s masterful welding technique and its miraculous effects.
Whitebeard, now feeling more or less fine, was just about to check his body in more detail when—
Vir smiled and pulled out his next tool.
And the moment that tool appeared, Whitebeard’s mustache curled in shock!
Whitebeard stared at the object in Vir’s hands in utter disbelief.
He gulped, his throat dry.
It was a pouch.
A pouch specifically designed to hold acupuncture needles.
It had rows of holes where the needles could be neatly inserted upright.
Except…
The one Vir was holding was… unusually large.
Like, half a meter large.
And it didn’t completely cover the needles inside.
Each needle had a part sticking out.
And from what Whitebeard could see…
Some of them looked like… drill bits?
And others… hammer bits?!
Whitebeard was officially dumbfounded.
Wait…
First of all—what the hell is inside that medkit?
Why the hell do you have chainsaws, arc welders, drills, and jackhammers?!
Forget the impossible storage space.
Bro, don’t you think you look more like a construction worker?
Walking around with a kit like that, do you really call yourself a doctor?!
And more importantly…
Vir had mentioned acupuncture next.
So… was this how he planned to do it?
Drill bits?
Hammer bits?
ACUPUNCTURE?!
What kind of connection do these three things even have?!
—–
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